Over the
weekend my friends and I were attending a graduation party for one of our own
from the land of honey which happens to be Ukambani and more specifically, Tala.
One thing I know about our brothers and sisters from Kamba land is their
kindness on distance especially if you are new to the place. It does not matter
how far you are from your destination, they’ll always tell you it’s close. They
have a way to say it in Kamba bt I will not even attempt to say it lest I end
up laughing at myself ( but I know you know what I am talking about, yes, that
one). To them, there is nothing like long distance, wherever you are going is
“here” despite their history as long distance traders.
And so for
us who we were travelling from Nairobi to Tala, when I enquired how far Tala
was and the definite response was “it is not far”, I kind of braced myself for
a whole days’ journey.
True to
their word, Tala town was not as far as I thought it would but our journey was
not yet over and the interesting part is none of us knew the direction we were
to take after the town including people whom I shall not mention, who ought to
at least have a clue; and for all the others who have a clue of what I’m
talking about, this also is a clue for you. This is now when it hit hard that we
are in this land of long distance traders. By the way, I forgot to ask, do
water melons grow in Kamba land-just asking-,anyway, that was beside the point.
We had to ask for directions and sure enough we were directed and this is the
point where I wonder whether our good friends are poor with directions or is it
that the well educated learned friends of mine are challenged when it comes to
maneuvering through a geographical location to find a place that some of them
have actually been to without pointing fingers. To cut the long story short, we
finally made it to our friends’ place after an unintended tour of the area.
The whole
event was a success as we celebrated her hard work. It is always interesting to
listen to our parents especially on such occasions and how dramatic they can
get and how proud they are of their children. And who wouldn’t be proud of
his/her son or daughter anyway? There is always a special child/parent bond.
And as they
say, everything that has a beginning must have an end, this event had to end
for us in Tala but the day had not ended. Our journey back to Nairobi is what
set the ball rolling for me as I listened to this special group of friends. I
must admit I was totally amazed at how compassionate these guys are towards
leadership; their passion for leadership is what kept me engaged as I carefully
listened to them. They might not actually have realized it and thought I didn’t
have anything to say or was not simply interested because I was quiet the
entire period but I was keenly listening to them. I remember at some point I
thought that if I had one chance to do something for this country, I would
vouch for that entire team to constitute the government of our country.
The topics
of discussion these guys were having, I must say were worth being aired on a TV
morning breakfast show and have all our politicians and top government
officials listen to it. This is the point where you actually appreciate when
they are called the crème de la crème of our nation, and true they are. They
talked of the economy, the divisions of class that we have here in Kenya; the
haves and the have-not, the extremes of either having or not having at all. One
actually quoted a quote that is still ringing in my mind; he said “There will
come a time when the poor will have nothing to eat apart from the rich”.
Another one mentioned how estates and apartments that are situated near the
ever green lavish areas where the rich men and women live end up being named.
Their proximity to the area gives them a view of the lavish estate hence names
like Rundaview estate, Karenview estate and so forth but truth is, it does not
matter whether you can view it or not, you are still not in that circle. You
remain to be at the periphery.
I know by
now you are dying to know who they are, but that is beside the point or rather,
that is where we go wrong as a country. When we recognize or want to be
associated with people not because of the legacy of their ideas and work but
because of their names. Names will come and go but the works of their minds and
hands will last generations to come.
The question
that remains now is, how are we ever going to close this gap? There is only one
person who will be able to do this and that is you. As for my very special
friends, I heard you speak so passionately about it and I am going to hold you
accountable to your words and I pray that with the help of God you will be able
to bring this change that you desire so much to our country.
Kudos to you
guys, you know yourselves.
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